


The Good That I Can Do

by Braincoins



Series: Connection-verse [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura's Team Dad for a Day, F/M, M/M, let Shiro rest, short & cute, techno-babble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 11:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9321482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braincoins/pseuds/Braincoins
Summary: Allura’s helping the paladins out so Shiro can have a day off





	

**Author's Note:**

> \- Barely-edited silliness. Short, sweet, and to the point.  
> \- There’s some stuff mentioned that won’t make sense if you haven’t read the rest of the Connection-verse. Short version though? Shiro’s got a new, non-Galra arm because the Galra one was corrupting him, and also Allura piloted the Black Lion for a bit and formed Voltron with everyone. Knowing that, you should be good to go.  
> ================

            Allura walked into the dining room alone that morning, and pretended not to notice everyone’s surprise. “Where’s Shiro?” Keith asked as she took her seat at the head of the table.

            “He needs a day off to rest,” she said, and braced for impact.

            “Yeah, I’ll bet he does.” There it was. From Lance, of course.

            “Lance,” Pidge hissed at him.

            But, of course, he ignored her, still grinning over at Allura. “You two stay up too late last night?” he teased.

            “No, actually,” she informed him archly. “Shiro had more nightmares last night.” That settled the mood down quickly.

            “I thought he was better now that we got rid of that arm?” Hunk asked.

            Allura shook her head. “He _is_ better. The nightmares aren’t as regular or as bad as they were before, but he does still have them.”

            “He went through a lot,” Keith pointed out.

            Allura nodded. “I believe the corruption used his existing trauma as a foothold. It exacerbated what was already there. But that trauma hasn’t entirely gone away just because that one reminder of it is gone.” There was a murmur of agreement. “I told him to sleep in a little, and to spend the day resting. He’s no good to any of us in the state he’s in.”

            Lance started to say something (likely another smart comment), but Keith clapped his hand over his boyfriend’s mouth. “And he actually agreed to take it easy today?” he asked her instead.

            Allura grinned a little. “It took some convincing. He said he’d promised all of you help with various things today, and I told him I’d take care of it. That was the only way he’d agree to taking the day off.” She smiled at them. “So let me know what you need, and I’ll be glad to help in his stead.”

            “After breakfast,” Coran interjected, setting a bowl down in front of her.

            “After breakfast,” she agreed. She’d used a lot of energy last night, and not in the way Lance had been thinking (or the way she might’ve liked). She’d had to calm her love more than once, but the nightmare he’d had a scant hour ago had been the worst yet, and that was what had sparked the conversation she’d relayed to the paladins just now.

            She was tired, but she hadn’t been the one _having_ the nightmares, and she thought she could handle one day of helping everyone out with things. She felt closer to them now after having formed Voltron with them all. She wanted to be able to help them more than ever, and that she could help Shiro in the bargain made it even better.

 

 

            She went to help Hunk first. “It’s not anything all that important,” he hedged when she showed up in the Yellow Lion hangar. “I mean, it’s not really _princess-y_ …”

            “I’m here to help,” she told him with a smile. “It doesn’t have to be ‘princess-y’.”

            He frowned at her usual dress and cape and then shrugged. “Okay, well, I’m doing some maintenance. It… might get messy.”

            She smiled. “I can go change, if that will make you feel better.”

            He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get started; just come back in when you’re not so…”

            “‘Princess-y’?” she supplied.

            Hunk grinned. “Exactly.”

            So she went and changed into something more utilitarian and came back to find him halfway inside one of the lion’s panels. “That you, princess?” he asked without pulling his head out.

            “Yes, Hunk. What do you need?”

            “The one-and-a-half calibrator.”

            “One-and-a-half? What are you doing in there, exactly?” But she hunted up the correct tool and handed it to him.

            “Just some fine tuning.”

            “You’re not adjusting the lemniscation assembly, are you?”

            He poked his head out. “Yeah, why?”

            She shook her head. “If you’re not careful, you’ll fry the polarity adjusters.”

            “Yeah, I know, but I already tweaked the capacitors. See?” He moved aside to let her look.

            She peered in. “Huh. You’re sure they can handle the increased throughput?”

            “Mostly sure.”

            She frowned thoughtfully. “What’s this?”

            “Oh, I hooked the plasma charger directly into the crystal array. I thought that would stabilize the vortices in the delta region and give it a smoother flow.”

            She blinked at him. “That… actually would, wouldn’t it? What a great idea!”

            He beamed proudly and started going through the various changes he’d made to “Goldie’s” innards. Allura suggested some new alterations based on his existing modifications. She spent the next few hours hauling parts, handing over tools, and getting more than a little greasy as they rooted around inside the lion.

            “I think that should do it.” He wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand. “Thanks for all the help! I was just expecting Shiro to hand me stuff and occasionally hold things, but you really know your lions!”

            She laughed a little, wiping her hands with a rag. “Well, I ought to, after all! I don’t know everything, and I certainly couldn’t have thought up half the things you did! And I was glad to help, truly. It’s been very educational.”

            He grinned happily and she waved as she went to wash up.

 

            “You know you don’t have to,” Lance told her.

            “Yes, I know I don’t have to,” she assured him. “But I want to help.”

            “Well, okay.” He shrugged and sat down in the training deck. “I’ve been trying to meditate more, like Shiro suggested. But it’s not always easy for me to sit still and clear my mind, y’know? In fact, it’s pretty much never easy.”

            “Shiro suggested you meditate? Why?” She sat down also, facing Lance.

            “Well, he said it helps him focus. And, well… Shiro’s been my hero ever since I joined the Garrison. He’s a great warrior; if meditating helps him, it could help me, too. Also,” he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, “sometimes I think I’m a little too… energetic for Keith. I can tell that Keith really enjoys the times when we’re just quiet together.” Lance was blushing. “But it’s hard for me to enjoy not talking, not doing anything. Sleeping’s one thing, but just sitting there in the same room is enough for Keith sometimes, and that’s really flattering in a way? But it also kinda drives me nuts?” He shrugged. “I ask Keith to put up with me a lot. I should be able to put up with something like this. Extra bonus points if it helps me connect with Blue and be awesome like Shiro.”

            She smiled and reached over to pat his hand. “Have you tried guided meditation? I had to start with that when I was first learning.”

            He shook his head. “I thought meditation was just sit down, close your eyes, and try not to think of anything. But I’m _always_ thinking of something, and it’s hard to just shut that down.”

            “Well, let’s try it. Close your eyes.” He did so. “Now, are you comfortable?”

            “I guess?”

            “Don’t guess. Know. Think of your feet first. Are your feet tense at all?”

            “You gonna rub ‘em for me if I say they’re not?”

            “Lance.”

            “Sorry. Force of habit.” He cleared his throat and wiggled his toes. “I think they’re as relaxed as feet can get.”

            “Move up your body, one muscle group at a time. Relax your legs, your core, your arms and shoulders.” She watched parts of his body twitch and resettle as he thought about them. “Relax your hands, your neck. Good.

            “Now, think about your breathing. Don’t try to change it, just… notice it. Notice how it feels moving in and out through your nose. Just focus on your breathing.” She was quiet for a moment, letting him do that. “Whenever you’re having trouble, come back to your breath and just focus on that.”

            She spoke to him calmly, in a gentle, even tone. She spoke first of the bond with the lions, a feeling she couldn’t have described before but had something of an inkling of now. “Feel that intimacy, that warmth and surety. It’s not just with your lion, is it? It’s with the other paladins as well. Reach out through the bond towards the Red Lion and Keith.” She watched a small smile spread across Lance’s face.

            “Know that no matter where Keith is or what you two are doing, you can never be farther away from him than this. Know it, and sit with that knowledge.” She fell quiet and watched him sit and be silent, still smiling faintly. “Feel how it warms you. Enjoy the feeling. It’s not something that has to be rushed. It can be savored. It’s not going to run away on you; you don’t need to chase it. Just sit still and let the warmth of that bond fill you.”

            Slowly, she brought him back to his breathing, to the touch of his body on the floor, and then told him to open his eyes. “There, see? You did fine.”

            “Well, yeah, you talked me through all of that.” But he seemed pleased with himself.

            “Try it on your own a couple of times, remembering what I said about focusing on your breathing when you get distracted. And if you’re still having trouble, let me know, and we’ll walk through it again with whatever it is you want to meditate on.”

            “Thanks,” he said, pushing himself up. He offered her a hand up, and she was happy to accept it. “Don’t be surprised if I’m bugging you like every other day for help.”

            She laughed. “I don’t know that it’ll be _that_ often, but I’m glad to be of assistance. And Shiro’s right: meditation can only strengthen your bond with your lion and the other paladins, not just Keith. Don’t forget about them.”

            “Hunk and I are BFFs,” he told her, before admitting, “Though I might need to work on bonding with Pidge a bit, I guess.”

            She smiled. “You’ll do fine.”

 

 

            It was absolutely no surprise to her that Keith wanted to fight. “Shiro was going to use his hand though,” he pointed out. “Partly to get used to it and partly so I could practice some hand-to-hand fighting.”

            “You mean he was going to actually have it active?” she asked, aghast.

            “Well, I was going to ask him to, anyway.”

            She frowned. “I doubt he would’ve agreed to that. But if you want to practice hand-to-hand combat, I don’t have a problem with that.”

            “I might,” he said, folding his arms.

            “Keith.”

            “I don’t want to hurt you.”

            She arched an eyebrow at him. “What if I assure you that you won’t?”

            “You’re not _that_ good,” he said.

            “How would you know?” she pointed out. “We haven’t sparred before.” An idea occurred to her. “In fact, how about this: we’ll each paint one of our hands. If the hand touches you, it’ll get paint on you. It’d be the same as if you’d been cut or injured in some way. The more paint, the more devastating the injury. And the paint can be cleaned off in the laundry later.”

            “Yeah, that… that could work. But…”

            “But nothing. I’ll go get some paint.”

            It took her a bit to hunt up some red and black paint (she might’ve preferred a nice pink or purple but she wanted something with more of a difference to the red). Once she found some, she brought it back to the training deck so she and Keith could dip their hands in their chosen colors. She squared off with him and watched.

            He wasn’t going to attack first, she realized, because he was still too busy thinking of her as either “the princess” or, more likely, as “Shiro’s lover.” _You’re going to start thinking of me as an opponent,_ she promised him in her mind, _and one to be reckoned with._ She attacked.

            Keith dodged and blocked mostly at first; effective, but annoying. He was still refusing to attack, so she upped the ante: she feinted with her hands and then kicked his legs out from under him. “HEY!” he protested from the ground.

            “I never said we could _only_ use our hands,” she pointed out with a grin. And then she drove her hand, flat as a blade, down towards his throat.

            He rolled out of the way, got back to his feet, and charged her. _FINALLY._

            Once the battle was well and truly joined, she got to appreciate just how skillful Keith really was. He wasn’t a true match for her – he wound up with at least three swipes of black paint to every one he was able to inflict on her – but he kept her on her toes. She’d sparred with Shiro before, of course, but Keith was a new and different opponent – lighter, faster, more agile. She had to think faster, predict quicker. She could do it, but she’d been growing complacent in fighting Shiro. _I should spar with all of them more often._

Eventually, he yielded, but only because, “I don’t want to mark you up too badly,” he claimed.

            “Very considerate of you,” she replied with a smirk, because he was practically covered in paint. She let him hide behind his excuse.

            “You’re a hell of a fighter, princess.”

            “Thank you. You are as well. It was good to have a different sparring partner.”

            “Yeah, it was.” He smiled. “So thanks for that.”

            “You’re quite welcome. I’m going to go wash paint off. Would you mind putting the paint away for me? Coran knows where it goes.”

            “Yeah, I’ll do that after my shower. Somehow I wound up with all this black on me.”

            She chuckled. “I wonder how that happened.”

 

 

            She washed up, changed back into her dress, and hoped Pidge wouldn’t need her to go back and change further. But Pidge was just sitting in the lounge area, typing on her laptop. “I’m sorry, princess, but I don’t think you can help me,” she said without looking up as Allura entered.

            “Why not?” she asked, walking over to take a seat next to her.

            “I wanted to talk with Shiro about the Kerberos mission. About what it was like before they got captured.” Pidge frowned down at her keyboard as she stopped typing. “I’m just feeling a little homesick, I guess. I miss my family.”

            Allura put a hand on Pidge’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. You’re right that I can’t talk about that. And I miss my family, too. But we’ll find yours someday. I know we will.”

            “Thanks,” Pidge said, not sounding very reassured.

            “Since I’m going to meet them someday, would you mind telling me about them? I like to be prepared.”

            Pidge snorted. “You don’t have to do that.”

            “Well, I am curious,” she admitted. “But if you don’t want to, I won’t press.”

            “No, it’s… it’s okay, I guess. I just don’t know where to begin.”

            “Do you think I’d get along with your father and brother?” Allura prompted her.

            “Oh, definitely. Especially Dad. He’d have the time of his life getting to meet an alien princess! No offense, but…”

            “Oh, no, I understand. To him, I would be, after all.”

            Pidge smiled, thinking back. “Dad always wanted to meet aliens. He just assumed they’d be friendly.” Her smile faded. “Mom always warned him that might not be the case, and I guess she was right.”

            Allura acted quickly, before the reminder of their fate could set in. “We’ll find them and rescue them. And I’ll look forward to telling your family all about what a hero you’ve been.”

            Pidge blushed faintly. “I wouldn’t say ‘hero’.”

            “I would! If it weren’t for you, Sendak would’ve taken off with the Castle of Lions and Voltron!”

            “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

            “Sometimes that’s all being a hero is,” Allura told her. “And I’m proud to have you as the Green Paladin. I would love to tell your father and brother all about it.”

            Pidge’s smile came back. “They’d like to hear it, too. I think Matt would be pretty jealous. And I know Dad would want to know all about Altea.”

            “Is he interested in cultural learning?”

            “Oh yeah, absolutely!” She laughed a little and added, “Don’t be surprised if he asks about your food. He was really interested in examining cultures through their dietary habits. He’s good at that sort of thing: taking something that seems super-uninteresting and teasing out the little details that are actually important.”

            Allura’s eyebrows went up. “Really? That sounds fascinating! I’d love an in-depth comparison of your culture to mine.”

            “Well, Dad would definitely be the one to give it to you,” Pidge said.

            She went on about her father’s academic interests, about how Matt had gone for more of a hard science approach, and how he’d followed their father into the Garrison. She talked about family dinners and relived some memories that came up, and Allura was interested in hearing it all.

            It made her miss her own family, of course, but learning about Pidge’s childhood and family was nice. It was fascinating to see this side of her. Pidge was so passionate about her family, which Allura had always understood, but getting details like this sharpened it for her.

            Eventually, Pidge exhaled. “Sorry, I’ve just been rambling on…”

            “Oh, no, don’t be sorry!”

            Pidge smiled up at her gratefully. “It was good to talk about them again. I try not to, ‘cause it usually makes me sad, but it didn’t this time, so, thanks.”

            Allura’s smile widened. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me. I look forward to meeting them.”

            And Pidge didn’t try to brush it off this time. “I look forward to them meeting you, too.”

 

 

            Allura was coming out of her private shower in her nightgown and robe, braiding her hair, when she heard the door to her quarters open. She looked up and smiled at Shiro walking in. “You look better,” she said. “How do you feel?”

            “Better,” he agreed. “I spent most of the day in the library working on reading Altean.”

            She tsked. “You were supposed to be _resting_.”

            “I was resting!” he protested. He walked around behind her and she dropped the braid, letting him pick it up and continue it for her. “I wanted to keep my mind occupied with something else. How did things go with the guys?”

            “Fine. I enjoyed myself. It was nice, getting to know them all better.”

            “They’re a good bunch,” he said. “Most of the time.”

            She laughed. “Perhaps they behaved a bit better for me than they would have for you. But it was still a good day.”

            He must’ve finished with her hair, because he smoothed his hands over her shoulders and down her sleeves before he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad,” he murmured quietly, pressing a quick kiss to her neck. “Thank you for today. For helping them and helping me.”

            She smiled. “I was glad to do it.” She turned around in his arms and hugged him. “And maybe now you’ll learn that you _can_ take a day off once in a while.”

            He snorted. “Coming from you, that’s _almost_ hypocrisy,” he warned.

            She straightened up to glare at him indignantly. “It is not!”

            “It is,” he insisted. “So maybe tomorrow you should take the day off?”

            “That’s hardly necessary,” she huffed.

            “Allura.”

            “It’s…” She had to pause to yawn. “It’s not.”

            He smiled softly. “C’mon. Let’s get to bed and get some shut-eye. I think we could both use the sleep.”

            “Fine, but only because you said you’re going to sleep, too.”

            “I’ll be right there next to you,” he promised.

            Allura smiled at him. “Thank you.”


End file.
